


The Road Away From Hell, Population:2

by TheSleepyGriffin



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Incest, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Runaway AU, Trans Kan, abusive homes, mentions of abuse, trans cro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-14 06:46:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13584549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSleepyGriffin/pseuds/TheSleepyGriffin
Summary: Cronus and Kankri come from different hellish homes. When they decide to runaway together on Cronus' eighteenth birthday, they both agree there's no turning back on the journey ahead of them.





	1. Straight Up The Coast: Georgia to Maine

Cronus leaned against his car hood, taking a drag from his cigarette as he watched everyone file into the school. On a normal day he’d follow them in, on a normal day he would go to class and cause a ruckus. 

But today he had other, more important things on his mind. 

He dropped his cigarette and coughed, stomping it out. Yeah that pretty much sucked. He paid good money on those shitty things too though, might as well keep them for the aesthetic.

He pushed himself off of his hood and sauntered his way into the building after the flood of students had entered. He wasn’t going to be staying long. Just long enough to get seen in his classes and marked for attendance, the last thing he wanted was for his father to find out what he was about to pull. As soon as last class hit, he was out of there.

Throughout his classes that day he was constantly writing away in his notebook, surprising his teachers by the notes he was taking. He scoffed. Right, notes. More like a survival list. 

He had been stealing from his dad and loading up the trunk of his car for months now. He was getting out of town today, nothing was here to hold him back. When he made his way to lunch however, his plan was confronted with a need for adjustment.

That adjustment was due to one Kankri Vantas.

Typically at lunch when he got his food he’d make his way to the school’s garden, and that’s just what he did today. What he didn’t expect though was maybe about ten minutes into his meal was for Kankri Vantas to enter the garden. If that wasn’t enough to throw Cronus off the other had an anxious look on his face, playing with the strap of his satchel bag.

“I, uh, hi.” The kid seemed to look everywhere but his face. Cronus didn’t respond, he only rose a brow at the other, “Are you Corona…?”

Cronus grit his teeth at the name and stood up from where he was sitting, shoving his hands into his pocket, “Cronus, m name is Cronus. What do you want?” This kid was already getting on his nerves. He better make this quick, next class was his last and he didn’t plan on wasting any time.

Kankri inhaled through his nose sharply and exhaled softly, “I heard you’re planning to uhm, as they’ve been saying it, skip town.”

Oh god. Who found out? He would fuckin’ beat them to a pulp. He rolled his shoulders and sighed through his nose, “Oh yeah? An’ who told you that chief?” He grabbed a cigarette and placed it between his lips, not to smoke, just to deal with his nerves, have something to chew on rather than grinding his teeth.

The kid took a step back, clearly intimidated. Good. “Well..just people. That’s not why I’m here though.” Oh great, this kid was gonna try and convince him to stay. ‘Oh Cronus your life can’t be so bad that you have to throw away what you have!’ ‘Your father is a wonderful man, what could be wrong with him?’ A wonderful man. Yeah sure. However, nothing close to those phrases came from Kankri, instead he said, “I want to come with you.”

Was he hearing things? Goody two shoes, Kankri Vantas, wanted to skip town with him? He narrowed his eyes and approached the other, standing toe to toe with him. Cronus took the cigarette from his mouth and stared down at the other as he spoke softly, yet firmly, “If you’re tryin’ to pull some shit to keep me from leavin’ you can turn your curly haired ass around an’ leave.”

“No!” The intonation of Kankri’s voice startled Cronus as well as the kid himself. “No, Cronus, please. I’ll pay you money, I’ll bring my own food, just..” Damn, was he serious? He seemed so frantic. Cronus took a step back and cocked his hip, “I’ll give you ten seconds to explain yourself.” He glanced down at his watch, “Tick tock babe.”

“What? Oh! Right now?” Cronus brow rose once again. Kankri sighed shakily, “To put it simply I can’t stand my foster mother any longer. You don’t even have to have me ride with you the whole way. You could just drop me off halfway there. I just need to get away from her, please. Like I said, I’ll pay y-”

“Time’s up.” 

Cronus puffed his cheeks and looked the other over head to toe. He could be serious, or he could be bullshitting. But this didn’t seem like a situation that Kankri Vantas would joke about. He tossed his cigarette into a nearby trash can with the remains of his lunch. Fine. A little company couldn’t hurt if the other was truly serious.

“Gimme your phone.”

“What?”

Cronus reached his hand out, “Give me your phone, I’ll text you the details.”

Kankri hesitated, biting his bottom lip. He then grabbed his phone and handed it over to Cronus who snatched it from his hand. He transferred their numbers, then tossed Kankri’s phone back to him, which Kankri almost dropped.

“I gotta get to class. I’ll text you after school.”

“Thank you Cronus, Oh I don’t know how I could-”

“I ain’t done.” Cronus grabbed the other by the front of his shirt, fear filling Kankri’s caramel colored eyes, “You tell anyone about this you’re a dead man.” He dropped the other and turned his back to him, leaving the garden.

Of course he wasn’t actually going to kill the kid if he actually blabbed, but it would instill enough fear to inspire him to keep his mouth shut. As soon as he was marked present in his last class he was gone. He needed to get supplies.

Store to store he went, spending his father’s cash. He would have to leave after his uh...father’s birthday gift..He shuttered at the thought but shook it off. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He tossed a bag of snacks into his car passenger seat and tugged out his phone. 

Time to text Kankri.

‘Hey, It’s Cronus. Here’s the basic plan. You’re gonna meet me at the school at midnight. If you ain’t there by 12:30 I’m gone. Bring blankets, clothes, food, and money. Anything else you want to bring go for it, but if it’s not necessary enough and takes up too much room it’s staying here.’

There. Now that he had that out of the way it was time to head home…

~~~

Hours later Cronus woke slowly, he was sore head to toe. His father had his arms firmly wrapped around his body. Eugh. He needed a shower.

Carefully Cronus worked his way from his father’s hold, replacing his figure with a bundle of pillows. He had to make sure the other didn’t wake up. If he did he was screwed, and likely would be pinned down to the bed for another hour. Time he could not afford to waste. 

Silently he managed to get into the bathroom and climbed into the shower. He scrubbed himself clean and every time he finished using a product it would go into his shower bag. This probably would be the last time for a while that he’d get a nice warm shower to himself. Once clean and dried off he tossed on a baggy t-shirt and tight jeans, then checked the time. 11:45. Alright he needed to get going.

As he exited the bathroom he cast one last look at his father. He sighed shakily, “Burn in hell.” And with that he left to his car. 

He cranked up his car radio and drove to the school. Nothing was stopping him now. He was getting away. He was starting a new life. He was eighteen now and no one could tell him no.

Cronus parked and sat back, closing his eyes. Only to jump at his window being knocked on five seconds later. He jolted up and looked out the window, eyes meeting Kankri’s. Damn this kid was serious…

He unlocked his car door and got out, glancing at the bags accompanying Kankri, then to the wad of money Kankri held out to him. Cronus blinked and grabbed it. That was a lot of fucking money...where the hell did the other even get it? Doesn’t matter now though. He pocketed the cash without a word, “Anything you’re gonna need in the back in case you need to grab it quickly?”

Kankri glanced at the satchel bag on his hip,”Just this.”

“Good.” Cronus walked around the other and popped the trunk. What was going through the other’s mind? Was he just as giddy? Or a nervous ball of anxiety like earlier. 

After packing up the trunk and closing it he looked to Kankri. He looked...tired. What gave him that clue? Well probably the fact he was leaning against his car, snoring softly. Rolling his eyes Cronus opened one of the back doors and nudged the other,”Hey, wake up.”

“Wha-?” 

“First thing’s first, you got a licence?”

Kankri stood up and stretched with a small yawn before rubbing his nose,”I, yeah it’s in my satchel, why?”

“Good. Sleep in the back, I’ll take the first shift of driving. When I get tired we’ll stop at a rest stop, get snacks, go pee and you can take over driving while I sleep.”

Kankri crawled into the back and curled up under the blankets already laid out,”You really have this all planned out don’t you, Cronus?” He adjusted the pillows pressed against the seats and curled up. 

“Yeah, sure.” Cronus closed the door and got back into the driver’s seat. He actually wasn’t sure about the other having a license originally. Now that he was sure the other had one he could cut their driving time in half.

As he drove off Kankri spoke up once more, rolling over to face the front where he laid, “Cronus? Where are we going anyway?”

He hadn’t really thought about that yet. Away. Just far away. That’s all he knew. Well, they were already heading North, “Maine.”

“Straight up the coast then..”,Kankri nodded and yawned, “Georgia to Maine.”


	2. Spoiled Drinks and Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QUICK WARNING: Towards the end of the chapter it hits graphic descriptions of rape and incest, the end is not horribly mandatory and if it is too much I would suggest skipping the end, thank you!
> 
> Sorry for the late update, I know you all have been excitedly anticipating it, I hope you enjoy!

Cronus had figured the trip wasn’t going to take too long. Two days was what google had told him. He glanced in his rear view mirror, watching Kankri for a moment before looking back to the road, he had probably been driving for about three hours now, and he could feel tiredness pulling at his eyelids.

He’d just have to trade off at the next rest stop. He yawned and looked to the clock, 3:24, a little over three hours. He sighed and looked up at the night sky, the only light that had accompanied him tonight was the rare headlights of other vehicles, or mainly the light of the moon and stars. 

Beautiful.

He tapped his fingers to the beat of his radio as he drove, puffing his cheeks. Music was the only thing that had made him feel free and safe for the longest time. It was something personal to himself. Stories that he could write without words right at his fingertips that strummed his guitar strings. That was the only company he had originally planned on bringing along with him. 

A blue sign soon came into view, stating that the next exit held a rest area. Sweet. He could stretch his legs, go to the bathroom and maybe snag a couple snacks from the vending machines. His stomach gave a growl as the thought of food crossed his mind. He shook it off and sighed shakily. His diet had always been...limited..thanks to his father’s basic control over literally everything he ate. One opportunity he wasn’t passing up on this trip was fast food, a luxury he had never been allowed to experience. 

A proper meal for once. Sweets, salty junk food. He could feel his mouth watering while his stomach gave another loud, angry growl.

The exit soon came into view and he pulled off, parking at the rest stop. As if on cue Kankri slowly sat up and rubbed an eye,”Where are we..?” He yawned and stretched his arms above his head.

“Just a bit into South Carolina state wise, we’re tradin’ off though, ‘m fallin’ asleep here.” Cronus turned off the engine and got out with a groan, god it felt good to walk. He looked over to Kankri who’s hair was a mess of bedhead, which made Cronus snort softly.

“What?”

“I uh, nothin’ chief.” Cronus grinned,”Listen, just, stretch out, get somethin’ to eat, go pee, all that shit. We’ll probably get movin’ again in twenty minutes.” He turned and started making his way to the bathroom. First things first, gotta take care of business.

After emptying his bladder and washing his hands Cronus made his way over to the vending machines. What shall he have for breakfast? He looked over the glass displays. What the hell was a pop tart? Whatever, seemed good enough. He purchased the breakfast pastry and turned his attention to beverages.

Kankri walked over, yawning and rubbing his eye with the sleeve of his sweater,”Getting breakfast?”

“Yeah, I swear ‘m so hungry my stomach is actually tryin’ to eat itself.”

A soft laugh came from the smaller boy and Cronus looked over, he had never heard Kankri laugh before. It was cute. Different from his usual ‘stick-up-the-ass’ self. 

His attention turned back to drinks. Holy shit a coffee vending machine? Hell yes. He punched in what he wanted and watched as a cup dropped, followed by the liquid pouring out and filling the paper cup. Nice.

He took his cup and took a drink, only to instantly turn and spit it out. Holy shit that was disgusting. He looked down at his cup and gagged, that’s why…

Kankri watched the whole scene tiredly and furrowed his brows,”Are...are you okay?”

“Spoiled milk..ugh..” His whole entire body gave a shutter before he tossed the cup into the trash,”There goes my fuckin’ appetite…”

Seriously. Ugh. He could feel his insides twisting in disgust. He needed to sit down before he actually puked. Shakily he made his way to a bench and sat down, holding his head in his hands. Gross.

He closed his eyes and slowly took deep breaths. Bleh.

“Cronus?” Cronus slowly looked up, staring face to face with a water bottle Kankri had shoved into his face,”Here, this might make you feel better.”

With a blink Cronus accepted the plastic bottle and twisted the cap off before downing it. At least it got the flavor out of his mouth.

“Thanks Kan.”

“Kankri.”

“Whatever.”

Kankri sat next to him and stared up at the sky,”I uhm, I just wanted to say thank you again...this really means a lot to me that you would have even considered bringing me along with you, especially when you could have easily said no.”

“Uh huh.” Cronus looked to Kankri,”Why did you wanna come along? Nobody just up an’ leaves where they’ve lived most of their life for no reason.”

The Vantas seemed to tense for a moment,”I...Maybe another time Cronus..I do have my reasons, I just don’t believe I’m quite ready to discuss them openly just yet.”

Cronus gave a shrug,”I s’pose I feel you there…” 

Kankri was right. If he had his own shit goin’ on that was enough to make him leave town, then yeah, he could probably understand why he wasn’t ready to just blurt out his entire life story just yet. Cronus knew it would be a long time before he could fully discuss his...relationship with his father. A shaky sigh passed his lips and he looked to the sky as well.

What was he doing out here? Did he even know? Sure, he was starting anew, finding a new self and getting away from his bullshit life, but did he even know what he was going to do when he got to Maine?

He couldn’t stay in the woods forever. He’d need to find somewhere to stay before the winter came, and what about Kankri? Was he gonna stick it out with him? Or as soon as they get there was he gonna bail? The thought of surviving on his own scared him more than the thought of turning into an ice cube during the winter. 

He wasn’t sure how long him and Kankri sat there, staring up at the stars in the sky, but it was Kankri standing that brought him out of his trance,”We should probably get moving again, huh? You look like you could definitely use some rest.”

Kankri was right. Cronus was exhausted. He suddenly felt as if the weight of the world had washed over his shoulders. Fuck. He stood with a groan and followed the other in silence to the car. He traded off his keys to Kankri and then climbed into the back, curling up under the blankets, burying his face into the pillows.

It wasn’t the comfy king sized bed he was used to, nor the silky sheets. But it was lacking his father, which was a huge plus and he would take this any day over spending another night with that man. 

Sleep soon overtook Cronus’ body as he rode and slowly the world melted away and he drifted off into his dream land.

~~~

When Cronus’ eyes opened once more his veins turned to ice. This wasn’t the car. He was back in his father’s room.

No, no, no. 

He got up, trying to make a run for the door, only to have it swing open to reveal his dad. Tears pricked at Cronus’ eyes as he backed up, his heels hitting the edge of the bed. 

He didn’t want to be here. Why was he here? Where was the car? Where was Kankri?

Within seconds he was shoved down against the bed, his body now nude and exposed. He wanted to look away, he didn’t want to watch or see. But his eyes were glued down to his crotch.

He hiccuped on a sob before he tried to scream out for help, however instead a yell a moan passed his lips. Cronus violently shook his head. He didn’t want it.

His father’s body became flush with his own and there was a burning at his crotch. He tried to yell out in protest, but more moans only came out.

Cronus felt as if he was going to be sick. His gaze was fixed, watching as his father touched him, used him. 

In, out, in, out. 

His body was shaking head to toe, his hands pinned above head. 

The bed groaned and creaked, the room filled with his moans, unfamiliar and terrifying. 

Everything became louder, faster, what was happening?! Why couldn’t he move?! He wanted to run away, but his legs only snapped around his father’s waist.

Why was his body betraying him like this?!

Finally his gaze was freed from their crotches and it flicked up to the scarred face of his father. 

Their lips smashed together and Cronus sobbed, unwillingly kissing back.

He felt tired, getting drunk off of the other’s kisses. He wanted to curl up forever, to be left alone. He wanted to be alone. 

Every wish that he gave though the opposite happened. He could feel his hips twitching. Something was coming. He knew what that something was and he wanted absolutely no part in it. But there was no stopping it.

His body tensed, his toes curled and his mouth let out more traitorous sounds before his vision went white.

~~~

Cronus quickly sat up, eyes wide and filling with tears as he panted. He let out a sob, burying his face into his hands as his body shook.

“Cronus? Cronus are you okay?” Kankri’s voice came from the front seat but Cronus gave no response.

He continued to sob and wail, not even noticing as Kankri pulled off to the side of the road and parked, moving into the backseat to coddle Cronus.

Cronus turned and buried his face against Kankri’s chest,”It’s okay Cronus, I’m here, it’s...it’s okay now.” Kankri shakily pet Cronus’ hair, soothing him until he had no more tears to spare.

“Do you want to talk about it…?”


	3. Loosen up, it's going to be fine.

Cronus bit the inside of his cheek, he laid on his side now, staring at the seat he laid upon, the engine of his old mustang occasionally trying to pull him to sleep like a siren calling men into the sea. He sighed shakily, unable to let himself sleep however, too fearful to enter his nightmare yet again.

Kankri had comforted him but he couldn’t bring himself to tell the other about the swirling hell of a dream. He gave a groan as his stomach burbled, god that coffee was still bugging him…

He sighed shakily and forced himself to sit up, oh god bad idea. He sat still for a moment while his stomach bubbled angrily. He waited for his gut to settle before looking to the driver’s seat where Kankri sat, driving in silence. Not even any music. 

Cronus rose a brow and climbed into the passenger seat, buckling up. The sun was just beginning to rise, lighting up the horizon ahead of them. Cronus couldn’t help but smile, how metaphorical. 

“Not feeling any better, Cronus?”

Kankri’s voice pulled him from the sun’s glowing trance,”Huh? Oh, no, no not really. It’s fine though. I’ll probably be okay when we get a proper meal though.” The thought of a meal made him shutter. God he couldn’t wait.

Kankri nodded and sighed softly,”I, I’m sorry if I pushed you too far with your dream, I didn’t know if it was a sensitive topic, I shouldn’t have been so intrusive…”

A snort came from Cronus, receiving an alarmed and confused look from Kankri,”God do you ever relax babe? You don’t always gotta talk all prim an’ proper, I ain’t a prince or some shit.”

“I do relax. I just do it in my own way. Preferably with a book…”

“Oh my goood. Okay if you’re runnin’ away with me we gotta get you to loosen up.” Cronus turned on the radio and cranked it up, bouncing to the beat, singing along obnoxiously. Sure he could sing it seriously and rock it, but right now he needed to get the other to crack his facade of being so high up.

Kankri huffed, “I’m not sure how this is supposed to help me ‘loosen up’ Cronus.”

“Just have fun!” Cronus grinned,”Have you never danced before?!”

“No, I haven’t.” Kankri glared at the dial to the radio and shut it off with a huff,”I’m not allowed to listen to music.”

Cronus’ brow furrowed and he scoffed,”Not allowed to listen to music? By whose rule?”

“I...my mother’s.”

“Well she’s not part of your life anymore, is she?” Slowly Cronus’ hand made it’s way toward the radio dial.

“No, no she’s not here.”

“So you can do whatever the fuck you want! I’ll show you!” Quickly he turned the radio on again and pushed the passenger window down.

“Cronus what on earth are you doing?! We’re on the highway!” 

He ignored the other however as he unbuckled, Kankri watching in terror as he sat upon the door, grinning as the wind whipped through his hair. This was freedom. He was free.

Cronus let out a yell and laughed. No more dad. No more starving. No more being controlled. He was free!

The wind whipped viciously through Cronus’ hair, fluffing it up and removing all the product left in it slowly. That’s one way to clean up, he thought to himself. 

However the fun ended when Kankri’s fingers grabbed onto his pants and tugged the Ampora back into the cab of the car, then pushed the window back up.

“Cronus!”

“Yeah Chief?” Cronus ran his hands through his hair which had become fluffed up and gently formed into curls, some gently caressing his face.

Kankri stared for a minute, feeling his chest squeeze. Oh no. He quickly forced himself to look forwards to the road,”Y-you could have died!”

“Oh I’m fine, I’ve never felt so alive in my life.” Cronus sat back, kicking his feet up onto the dashboard, then looked to the other, “You get a lil chilly?” A smirk grew on his lips, “Your cheeks look all rosy.”

“I’m fine!”

Cronus chuckled and looked up, a state sign coming into view,”North Carolina..finally I thought we were never gonna make it here.”

A nod came from Kankri and he sighed, “The feeling is mutual.” He pulled the car off into a rest area.

Cronus groaned, “Okay I’m so getting you to loosen up when we get out.”

“Cronus.”

The Ampora got out and turned on the radio once more, pulling the other close when he got out, “Cronus what are you doing?”

“Dancin’ with you.” 

“Uhm...I don’t know how.”

“You don’t need to know how.”

Cronus hummed, smiling as it changed to the next song, “Perfect. You ever heard this song?” He pulled Kankri’s arms around his neck while he put his hands on the other’s hips. Kankri shook his head, “Youth, Troye Sivan, I dunno why but I really like this song.”

He swayed with the other in silence for a bit, watching Kankri’s face with a gentle smile, “Cronus I don’t get the point of this…”

Nothing but a soft laugh came from Cronus in response as he spun the other and caught him in a dip, then pulled him close. Kankri’s breath caught in his throat, “What…”

“Just let the music move you. Feel it in your bones.”

Kankri hesitated, letting Cronus spin him once more, however Kankri then allowed himself to be spun away, and then pulled close again, his back against Cronus’ chest as they swayed.

Cronus sung softly along, next to Kankri’s ear while he nuzzled against his neck, soft curls brushing against Kankri’s smooth skin, making him shiver.

A smile slowly formed on Kankri’s face as he dipped down out of Cronus’ grasp and then pulled him, close, lifting him into the air as he spun him.

Cronus was taken off guard at first, then began to laugh, causing Kankri to laugh softly along with him. Cronus was...surprisingly light. He was on the shorter side compared to Kankri but…how was he so feather light?

The song soon came to an end, Kankri setting Cronus down and they both panted for a moment to catch their breath. Cronus then patted his shoulder, “There’s the real Kankri Vantas, good to meet you babe. I’m gonna go pee now.”

Kankri swallowed his breath and watched Cronus make his way to the bathroom. Shit.

The two did their business and met up once more, Cronus hopping into the driver’s seat once again while Kankri pulled himself into the passenger seat, ”Hey Kan, you wanna see if we can find a restaurant to grab some grub at?”

“Grub?”

“Food, real food, not the vending machine shit.”

“Oh...well I don’t see why not.” Kankri shrugged as they made their way out, looking for somewhere to eat.

The two soon stumbled upon a cafe and got out, going inside. The atmosphere was calm, quiet, it was so early that no one was even inside yet. They ordered their meals, then sat in silence, watching as the sun slowly crept into the sky, birds waking up and flying around.

“Kankri, where do we wanna live once we can afford a place?”

“What?”

Shit. The other wanted to stay together right? “I, I mean like you wanna stay in the city or like, the country.”

“Oh...uhm...maybe in the country until we’re on our feet somewhat, then maybe I wouldn’t mind staying in an apartment in the city.”

“Cool, cool.” Cronus let out a sigh of relief. Good. That was good. Did Maine even have cities though? 

His thoughts were interrupted though, due to the plate of food being placed in front of him. “Oh god…”

“Is something wrong?” Kankri began to eat his own.

“No, no I’ve just...never seen so much food at once before.”

“Uh huh...” 

Cronus wasted no more time and began to dig in, eating messily, but he truly didn’t care cause holy shit it was so good. He ate through half of his plate when Kankri had tapped his arm. Oh, okay maybe he should have been more aware of his manners…

He looked up, seeing Kankri’s face paling, ”Huh? What is it chief, is it my eating, listen sorry I’ll-”

Cronus was cut off by Kankri pointing behind them. Cronus rose a brow and turned around, staring at the tv behind him with his and Kankri’s face plastered on the screen on a news broadcast.

He turned his gaze back to Kankri and he sighed shakily. He quickly paid and packed up their food with the other. They then hurried out to their car, speeding out.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Cronus gripped the steering wheel.

“Cronus what are we going to do?!”

“I, I dunno I...” He sighed shakily; running a hand through his hair, then took a deep breath to calm himself. He needed to think reasonably and not panic ,”I think...I think we should change our appearance.”


	4. What Bad Can Come From A Makeover?

“Change our appearance?” Kankri stared at Cronus,”Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?”

“Listen, Kan, if I know my dad he’s gonna be offerin’ a good amount of money to get me back at least.” His eyes watched passing road signs, pulling off an exit and made his way to a Wal-Mart.

“Cronus how are we even gonna change it?”

“Hair dye, maybe change our clothing style,glasses and shit?” Cronus’ was completely panicking, yes, he knew that, but could the other really blame him? He parked and stared forward out the windshield. 

“Cronus.” Kankri took his arm gently,”We’re old enough to say no, we don’t have to go anywhere with them, nobody can bring us back. If the cops find us we can explain ourselves and they can’t force us to go back. The only thing that could possibly force us to go back with them is themselves. Now just take some deep breaths with me okay?”

Cronus let out a shaky sigh before slowly following Kankri’s guidance in breathing. His grip on the steering wheel loosened and slowly he sat back, closing his eyes gently. Kankri was right. Cronus was just over reacting. Everything would be fine.

He turned to look to Kankri and gave a small nod,”right, right you're right.” he rolled his shoulders and sighed,”sorry it just...that threw me off. I totally forgot the media was a source that was going to be against us too.”

“Although..” Kankri hummed, glancing at the time,”we could still go inside and poke around, maybe change things up for the both of us. I do admit I'd like to know what Cronus Ampora looks like instead of Corona…”

Cronus blinked, a smile forming on his lips,”Yeah? Well, alright but don't think you're just going to be on the side lines watching me this whole time.” he climbed out of the car.

“And what, pray tell, do you mean by that Cronus?” Kankri rose and brow as he got out and stretched, his joints giving soft pops as he did so.

“Well...maybe just a toned down make over for you.” Cronus snagged his hand and dragged Kankri toward the building’s doors.

Kankri widened his eyes and stared down at their hands, a light flush crawling onto his cheeks. Oh god... that all too familiar feeling crawled inside him once again, giving another squeeze at his heart.

He was falling for the other. Hard. What was he going to do…?

Cronus however, was completely oblivious as he entered the Walmart and made a straight shot for the hair products section. Of course. He had snagged an empty basket near the front of the door and began to pile it full with hair dye, shaving tools and so forth. 

Kankri snapped out of his puppy love trance and stared at Cronus as he set to work. He had a feeling Cronus already had an image made up for himself by the way he was going at it. Purple hair dye huh? Sure.

As Cronus made his way away from the hair dye section Kankri slowly approached the shelves and looked them over. So many colors. He hesitated, holding onto his sleeves, biting his bottom lip. Fuck it. He grabbed a box of red hair dye, slipping it into the basket without Cronus noticing.

“Alright,” Cronus whipped around, the two jumping,”Oh, didn't see you there chief.” he chuckled softly and sighed,”I wanna head for clothes next, that okay?”

“yeah, yeah of course.” 

With Kankri’s approval Cronus set off in a fast walk toward clothing while Kankri had to weave through the various people within the store. A feeling of nervousness prickled over his skin as he glanced over his shoulder. He felt as if the strangers’ eyes were burning holes into him.

Had they seen the news broadcast?

He took a deep breath and shook it off, soon catching up with Cronus, who, once again, was completely oblivious.

“I, uhm, Cronus?”

Cronus turned around,”What do you think?” he held up a leather jacket,”add some pins, some patches and I'll be looking like a true badass.”

“Yes, yes Cronus that's nice and all but-”

“of course I haven't been looking for just myself though, I found you something too.” Cronus crossed the clothing section, Kankri at his heels.

“Cronus-”

“What's your thoughts on crop tops?”

“I- there fine, but Cronus could you just stop and-”

“Good, good so let's just-”

“Corona!”

Cronus blinked and paled slightly, stilling his movements. Kankri covered his mouth with his hands,”Cronus, Cronus I'm sorry I didn't mean to, I shouldn't have, you just weren't…”

Cronus blinked and glanced around the area where a few strangers were watching them as if it was the most casual thing in the world. He looked to Kankri who was still stumbling over his words. 

He grabbed Kankri’s hands tightly for a moment to get him to shut up before slowly looking to the crop tops again and casually shopped. He then spoke softly to Kankri,”Act. Casual. I know we're being watched, but if we freak out and show that we know they’ll come after us faster. They're likely just keeping tabs on us for a car outside.” 

He took a crop top off of where it was hanging before holding it in front of the others body, then put it into the basket before moving over to leggings.

Kankri followed nearby again, trying to keep his cool. Which wasn't terribly easy when your paranoia of possibly being watched by strangers had been confirmed. He spoke, matching Cronus’ voice level from before while he put the pants into his basket,”How do you know all that?”

“To put it simply not all of then are strangers to me. My dad definitely sent them.”

“Your dad sent creepy guys to kidnap us?”

“i, yes, but not any creepy guys...I'll explain when we get back to the car, but for now I want you to keep close to me and just act as calmly as possible. We're probably going to have to ditch the car tonight.”

“Jesus.” Kankri followed the other to the self checkout. He felt as if this would be straight out of a dream he had after watching an action movie, but it was all too real.

“Here's the plan...we book it for the car, we get in and speed out of here like there's no tomorrow. We find a hotel near here with railroad tracks, get a room and wait for a train to come. Once the train gets there we hop on with all the stuff we can carry.”

Kankri gave a nod watching as Cronus’ finished bagging their items. He hadn't even noticed til now that Cronus hadn't been watching the price scanner the whole time, but was watching for anyone who might try to sneak up on them. Cronus paid and took their bags in one hand, Kankri’s hand in the other.

Kankri could feel his heart beating in his throat as they slowly approached the exit. His eyes flicked to the left where a black SUV was parked with two rather burly looking guys stood outside of.

He could feel his calves tightening, preparing to run as the automatic doors slid open. All he needed was a simple,”Now.” from Cronus before he sprinted forward for the car, holding Cronus’ hand tightly so they'd practically be inseparable.

A car stopped next to them and blared his horn in anger at the two. Cronus quickly shouted sorry as he sped along. Kankri knew he shouldn't look over his shoulder but…

The two men along with a few others now were chasing after them with a scary amount of speed. Fuck. He looked forward again as Cronus opened the passenger door and shoved Kankri inside,”Close the door!”

Kankri slammed it shut and locked it while Cronus got into the driver’s seat, speeding out of the parking lot, the men from earlier chasing after them.

He panted softly and looked to Cronus, widening his eyes,”You...hah, need to..tell me what's...going on..” 

“Not right now Kankri.” he took a sharp turn, Kankri letting out grunt as his body slammed against the door,”Find us a hotel.” Cronus gave him his phone.

Kankri caught it and opened his phone, looking for nearby hotels,”there's one near here..it has a railroad that goes behind it.”

“Good. Get me directions.”

Kankri sighed shakily and did so, telling the other where to go. They soon came to a stop at the hotel.

Cronus rushed to the trunk,”Grab what you can and then whoever gets all their shit first will get us a room, okay?”

“okay.” Kankri threw his satchel on, then tossed a backpack on. He then snagged his wallet and rushed into the front office of the hotel,”I need a room.”

The front desk clerk blinked and nodded, “Double or single?”

What? Uh, “Single?” 

The worker nodded and asked for his payment, which Kankri handed over,”How many nights.”

“Just one.” Kankri bit his bottom lip, his anxiety going through the roof, or was it adrenaline? He snagged the key as soon as it was dangled in front of him and rushed with Cronus into their room.

Cronus locked the door and took a deep breath, closing all the curtains,”As soon as we hear a train coming, we're out of here.”

Kankri sat on their bed,”After you do some explaining.”


	5. All Aboard For The Route To Freedom

Cronus hesitated before sitting next to Kankri on the bed, avoiding looking at him. Kankri sighed and took his gaze from the floor to the other,”Who were those people? And please don’t lie to me Cronus, I can tell there’s something more to this than you’re telling me…” 

Kankri didn’t want to upset the other, but if they were going to be together in this situation then he needed full context...which honestly sounded hypocritical coming from him...they had barely exchanged anything about each other’s past.

“There’s things we’re both not saying Cronus...if you tell me what’s going on with you...I’d be willing to share my story.”

Cronus’ gaze shifted from the wall, to their hands, then to Kankri’s face. He was right. He should have just told him that other night. He got up, grabbing their bags from Wal-Mart.

Kankri watched, a defeated tug pulling at his heart. 

Taking the hair dye and bleach from the bag Cronus concentrated as he set to work dying his hair. He did want to tell Kankri but...he just couldn’t think about it too much, making himself busy was probably the only way he’d be able to tell the other without becoming an emotional wreck.

“My mother died when she had me in childbirth...leavin’ my dad to raise me.” He tugged his gloves on and prepared everything.

“Oh Cronus..I-”

“Please don’t talk..” He hissed softly as the bleach gently burned his scalp. Okay maybe he should have done some research before doing this. He flipped the box over and read the instructions in silence for a minute. He could feel Kankri’s gaze burning into him.

“Anyway...that lead my dad to alcoholism..when I started goin through puberty, about age maybe, I dunno, twelve? Thirteen?, anyway he had gotten so drunk,” He began to rapidly apply the bleach,”That he had shoved me onto his desk in his office and took my virginity...from that day on I had basically lost my freedom to him.”

Swallowing heavily Kankri slowly got up and walked over, taking the application brush from Cronus and evenly spread the bleach after putting on a spare pair of gloves. That still didn’t answer all his questions..

“What about those guys at the Wal-Mart?”

“Other men who worked with my father and paid to...use me.”

“Jesus christ Cronus.” Kankri frowned

“I know..but...listen I’ve gotten all this shit out, now you gotta tell me why you even came with me on this stupid trip in the first place.” Cronus sat, glaring at the other’s reflection in the mirror.

Kankri knew he had hit a sensitive topic and had only made Cronus feel the need to become more defensive, which he couldn’t blame him. Okay...his turn.

“My mother...well, she adopted me, she raised me to almost be a trophy child of sorts, raise me to be the perfect little girl. She had a whole daily plan set up for me and if I ever broke it I’d be punished. Locked in closets, starved for days...then I began to sneak food, she became furious. It was only recently when I started fighting back against her and well, now here I am.”

Cheeks puffed, Cronus nodded,”So, we’re not coming from horribly different stories.”

“It would seem that way.” Kankri set the bowl of bleach aside and went back to the bag.

“What are you doing now?”

“Well...I’m not doing most of my hair like you are but I thought maybe dying my bangs red would be kinda fun?”

Cronus grinned,”Let me.” he took the box

~~~

The train hadn’t shown any signs of coming for hours, however the two’s hair makeovers were complete. Kankri hadn’t done much with his, just simply dyed his bangs red like he wanted. Cronus on the other hand now sported an undercut, the sides his natural black color and the top was lavender and slicked back.

They both stood in front of the mirror, observing themselves. Kankri let his eyes wander over to Cronus’ reflection in the mirror, he looked so happy…”You look cute.”

“Pardon?” Cronus tugged his eyes from his reflection and looked to Kankri, a flush on his cheeks.

Kankri widened his eyes, surprised as well that the words had left his lips,”Well, uhm, you..your hair-”

Before the Vantas could embarrass himself further however, a train horn blew in the distance. Cronus blinked, completely forgetting about what the other had said,”It’s go time.”

He snagged his bag off the bed and Kankri did the same. They had already raided the place for soaps and shampoos and everything was packed. No trace left behind, not even a speck of hair dye remained in the tub.

Cronus double checked the door’s lock before opening the curtains to the window in the back of the room and opened it, removing the screen. He looked down the railway, the train now in sight.

He leapt out of the window and helped Kankri climb his way out. Adrenaline was running under both of their skins, along with a mix of nerves. They couldn’t fuck this up.

Kankri’s stared down the line of train cars, trying to spot an empty one. “There.” He pointed to an open car. Cronus looked to where he pointed and nodded. One chance.

The front engine of the train passed and Cronus held Kankri’s hand tightly as he quickly approached the train, everything felt as if it was going in slow motion. He hopped into the car successfully and kept hold of Kankri’s hand who was running along side the car. He took both of his hands and tugged him into the car.

As soon as the two were safely on board Cronus laid back, panting softly,”Holy shit.” he laughed softly and ran his hands through his hair,”We did it!”

Kankri sat himself on a crate in the car and couldn’t help but smile with the other,”We did.” He set his things down and approached the train door, his breath catching in his throat,”Oh wow..”

Before him was the ocean, the sun setting below the horizon. Just...wow. He jumped as Cronus put a hand on his shoulder, which proceeded to grab his shirt tightly when he jumped,”Its okay..there’s a ladder that leads onto the roof of this thing y’know, if you wanna go up.”

Well...normally Kankri would say no, but, he wanted to, and if he wanted to do something now he was just going to do it. With a grin he nodded, then followed Cronus up the said ladder on top of the train.

The two kept close to each other, silently taking in the sunset. Kankri looked to Cronus and slowly took his hand once more.

He wanted it. He wanted Cronus. He wanted…

Cronus looked to Kankri and blinked. He had never truly taken a minute to admire the other. How beautiful he truly was. HIs fluffy hair, pouty lips, cute freckles..

No words needed to be exchanged between the two, the tension in their eye contact was all they needed.

Their lips slowly pressed together and for once everything in their worlds seemed safe. Kankri squeezed Cronus’ hand and cupped his cheek gently before pulling back,”Cronus I-”

“I know Kan. Me too.” 

Kankri’s heart swelled and he hugged him tightly as the wind whipped over them, Cronus happily hugging back,”Now then...as nice as it is up here, how about you an’ me get back in that train car and we see what we can manage for dinner, yeah?”

“That’d be nice.” 

The two climbed back down into the car and Kanrki unpacked their bags, setting up a makeshift bed for them. He felt as if he was floating on air...he had never felt so happy before in his life.

Cronus whistled softly, a smile tugging at his lips. Kankri loved him, he loved Kankri...he had love in his life. God. 

He took the small portable propane stove from his bag, which his father had brought on camping trips, and set to work making some pasta. They would need to settle somewhere soon after this. They didn’t have much food.

He looked back toward the water. Sun rises in the east and sets in the west..with that logic they should be headed north. Good. That kept them on track, especially if the train route kept to the water. 

With luck they would be in Maine by the time they woke up the next day.


	6. It'll Be Okay, I Promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I'm really sorry I haven't updated in like uhhh, forever. I won't even bother with all my excuses and shit, I just hope you enjoy the chapter even though it's fairly mellow and hopefully I'll update again soon..

Cronus woke to the sound of birds chirping and the train continuing on its path. Sunlight was beginning to gently float into the train car, illuminating where the moon had been what felt like years ago. Kankri was curled up next to him, fast asleep and snoring. He would have gotten up to make breakfast but...for once in his life he felt safe, and relaxed, and he never wanted this moment to end.

He laid his head back down on his backpack which had been a makeshift pillow and silently watched Kankri sleep. Was it creepy? Maybe a little. He gently pushed a few strands out of the others face, watching as Kankri scrunched his nose and huffed before resting peacefully once more.

Last night still felt like a dream to Cronus. Sure he had been kissed too many times to count, but last night was different than all those other times. There was a spark. A spark that he had never felt before. Describing it to himself he had to admit he did sound a little well...embellished, but there was no other way to describe it.

He was falling for Kankri. 

Shit.

He sat up, his face red at the thought. He tried to argue it in his head but hell, he was pretty sure he had already fell. 

He pushed back a few stray curls of his hair out of his face and turned his attention away from the sleeping body next to him to the scenery rushing by outside the car.

The train couldn’t have too much farther to go before it stopped. They needed a plan.

Biting his thumb in thought he huffed. They probably had enough food to last a few more days, maybe a bit longer than a week at most, money wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t going to exist forever. They were going to have to get jobs some way. 

The best plan for now that he could settle on was to wait for something close to a town or structure or anything of the sort to appear, hop off, get some info on where the hell they were and then go from there. Of course though they still had to be wary, he was sure his father wouldn’t have stopped having those missing broadcasts stopped just because his guys had been on their tail for a bit.

They just had to be careful.

Reluctantly he pushed him off the floor of the car and stretched out with a soft groan. Kankri gave an unhappy noise and rolled over onto his other side, pulling the blanket that Cronus had just abandoned close to cuddle. 

Cronus couldn’t help but smile, what a cute dork. Though Kankri would probably deny and scoff at him if he ever told him that.

However he was distracted by a low, angry rumble from his stomach. Right. Food. Time to see what they had that he could scrounge together for a meal.

He picked his backpack up and sat on a crate, letting the bag sit in his lap as he rummaged through it. Granola bars...small boxes of cereal..He let out a drawn out sigh, poptarts and water would have to do.

After pulling out a bottle of water and a foil packet of poptarts he set his bag aside and dug into his poor excuse of a breakfast. It was strange for him to be honest. His day would usually consist of him waking up, cooking him and his father breakfast, going to school, coming home, doing homework, start on his father’s dinner, spend the evening with his dad until he…

Cronus closed his eyes tightly and took a shaky breath. No. No he didn’t need to think about that right now. What he needed to focus on was keeping himself and Kankri safe, thats all that mattered. It was all in the past now. 

His eyes flickered back open to the sound of movement, oh, Kankri was waking up. He watched in silence as Kankri stretched out and yawned. Fuck. How did he look so beautiful..?

Kankri looked around the car for a moment, his eyes settling on Cronus. He flushed a gentle pink and offered a smile,”Good morning, Cronus.” He pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them.

“Morning…” He wiped the crumbs of poptart off his face with his arm, smiling back slightly,”How’d you sleep?”

“Well,” Kankri stood, cracking his back gently,”I’ve slept in worse positions if I’m being honest, so, fairly well.” He glanced outside and crossed his arms,”Where are we?”

“No clue.” Cronus pushed himself off his crate and stood next to Kankri, facing outside once more,”Though I figure once we start seeing signs of civilization again we should probably hop off, figure out where we’re at and go from here. Not the best plan probably, but that’s the best I can come up with for now.”

“No, no it’s fine. Poptarts for breakfast huh?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. We’ve got plenty of food I just uh, feelin’ lazy cookin wise this mornin’ you know? Plus uh, the pot we use with the propane stove is a lil dirty.”

“Right.” Kankri adjusted the sleeves of his shirt and hummed,”Well I better eat too then, never know when we may reach a town hm?”

“Yeah, I’ll start packing up once you figure out what you’re gonna eat.”

~~~

About an hour had passed and Cronus and Kankri found themselves silently sitting on the edge of the train car door. Kankri had eaten, Cronus had cleaned up, and now all that they could do is wait. Cars had been heard in the distance, then faded, then returned. It was a whole situation of patience, and surprisingly neither of them had spoken much between each other within the time.

Cronus was the first to break the silence,”Look, over there, through the trees.” He pointed at what seemed to be a house maybe 1,200 yards away. And then another house came into view, and a store,”Kan this is it, this is our stop.”

“I guess it is.” He carefully stood with Cronus’ help and looked over to him,”If I break an ankle I’m going to scream at you.”

“You’ll be fine, just make sure not to land well...stupidly.”

“Wow thanks for the advice.” Kankri rolled his eyes and gave Cronus a playful nudge, earning a stuck out tongue from him.

Cronus then took a deep breath, jumping off the train and rolling across the ground as he landed. Kankri watched, wide eyed, then soon followed, closing his eyes tightly as he rolled along, only to find himself caught in Cronus’ arms.

“You okay?” Cronus pulled him up

“I believe so, yes.”

“Then let’s head into town and figure out where we are then, yeah?”

Kankri nodded, fixing his backpack, jumping slightly as Cronus took his hand.

“Hey, its okay, just me.” Cronus smiled

“Right, right.” Kankri took a sharp breath to calm himself,”I’m okay.”

“Okay.”

With that the two cautiously made their way into town, making sure to keep their heads down. It wasn’t a large town, just a simple small one, maybe with a population of about 2,000ish Cronus would bet by the looks of things. After a bit of walking they came upon a small store with ‘Albion Corner Store’ written in a sign.

“Well, guess that’s the town’s name then.” Cronus shrugged,”Kinda makes me think of all the towns called Albion in the fantasy novels I would read.”

“You read fantasy novels?”

“I- shush.”

Kankri laughed softly and went into the store with Cronus, looking around,”Cronus, over there, a map.”

“Oh good.” 

The two approached the map which was covered in plexi glass and had a ‘X’ in sharpie over where the store presumably was. Then Kankri grinned,”Cronus, we’re in Maine. Cronus we made it.”

Cronus nodded,”We did.” He chuckled, a little surprised,”What luck..” He looked at the map,”Doesn’t seem like it’s big enough to have a hotel near here, though...well..”

“Well what?”

“Hear me out, there’s a junkyard, maybe about a mile from here in the woods. We could make a makeshift shack there for now.”

“A junkyard? Will that really be safe Cronus?”

“Listen, if anything happens, there’s a health center right there, see?” Cronus pointed on the map.

Kankri puffed his cheeks,”I suppose if that’s the best we can do for now…”

“Just for now, I’m sure if we look around we can find a place to stay, whether we crash on someone’s couch or..I dunno we squat in an abandoned house for a bit. We will figure this out, I promise.” Cronus looked to Kankri and held his hand tightly.

Kankri returned his gaze, holding eye contact,”I...okay, I trust you Cronus.”

“I won’t let you down babe.” He pecked the other’s lips softly,”Now why don’t we take stock of what we have, yeah?”


	7. Unexpected Ties

The walk to the junkyard was held in an uncommon silence between the two. Cronus puffed his cheeks, kicking a rock down the road they were walking.

He didn't want to upset Kankri or make him uncomfortable with the junkyard idea but in reality right now it was the best he could think of. He needed to break the silence though…

“So...lotta trees in Maine I guess.”

“Yep.” there was a long pause before Kankri spoke again, “It’s the most forested state in the country.”

“Really? Did not know that.”

“I had to do a research assignment where I wrote a few pages about a select few states.” Kankri gave a shrug.

“That's fucking ridiculous, how did you do that much work just for one project?”

A laugh came from Kankri, and Cronus couldn't help but smile a bit, a fluttering feeling filling his stomach,” Cronus, I care about you, you know that but, and I mean this in the most loving way I can put it, I'm school you sort of did well...none of your projects with any effort.”

“Nah, nah I'd argue that. I mean sure, a lot of my classes did I not give a shit about? Yeah. However, there were some I actually really liked.”

“Uh huh, name three.”

Cronus pursed his lips, staring at his feet as he walked,”Uhm, well...I did..squeeze a few music classes into my schedule.”

“Really? I mean I know you like to sing but I just wasn't aware that you were taking classes.”

“Okay well...maybe they were more of study halls where I went to the music hall and borrowed a guitar time to time.”

They walked around a corner of the road, “I never really took any personal time like that during school I was to-”

A loud car horn wailed behind him and out of fight or flight instinct Cronus swiftly tugged Kankri out of the road and rolled down into the ditch on the side of the road as the car squealed on its brakes before backing up.

“You okay babe?” Cronus sat up, still holding Kankri close.

“Yes, I'm fine but I have a few choice words for that driver.” Kankri stood, dusting himself off, then went to where the car had now parked and turned on their blinker to the side of the road.

“Hey, hey I'm so sorry doll, are you two-”

“Apology not accepted!” Kankri was the red in the face,” in my life I have seen some ignorant drivers, but you, sir, are completely reckless.” Cronus climbed out of the ditch, taking Kankri hand in an attempt to calm him, which failed. “I suppose I ought to give you some bonus credit for actually backing up to see if we were okay, however that does not even come close to excuse the fact of-”

“Hey wait a minute I know you two…”

“You...you do?” Kankri narrowed his gaze.

“Yeah, yeah uh…” the stranger snapped his fingers as he tried to place where he had seen the two, ”Oh! You're the two chicks I've been seeing on the news.”

With that Kankri paled and Cronus moved in front of him defensively, “And if you say one single god damn word to the police you're gonna regret it.”

“Whoa, easy doll face.”

“Doll face?” Kankri huffed.

“I ain't gonna go to the police...however I do have a sofa in my house, maybe you could come with me and we could talk this out?”

Cronus looked back over his shoulder to Kankri, and then back to the stranger, “Can we have a hot sec to talk about this?”

“Take all the time you need, I was just out for about joy ride anyway.”

Cronus turned to Kankri,”Babe, I really think we should go with him.”

“But Cronus, what if he's lying, what if he tries to hurt us like..like they did?”

“I dunno, I got this weird gut feeling that's telling me to trust him. Listen, if anything happens, there's two of us, one if him right?”

“That we can see, he could have more people with him at this house he's inviting us to go to.”

Cronus pressed his tongue against his cheek as he took a moment to think, “Okay, okay uh...well what if we make a deal with him? If at any given time we feel uncomfortable he lets us leave.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then we run off again, listen,” Cronus cupped Kankri’s cheek, stroking his cheekbone with his thumb, “We’ve got no better option, it's either go to the junkyard, or crash on this guy's couch.”

Kankri sighed, leaning his head lightly against the others touch, “I don’t..” he closed his eyes, “okay. Okay. But if it goes wrong I take full rights to say I told you so.”

“Deal.” Cronus kissed his forehead softly, causing the other to flush gently. He then turned to face the stranger, “Okay, we'll go with you, but if any second we want out you'll take us to the junkyard near here, okay?”

“sure,” he gave a shrug and opened the driver’s door to get back in, “either of you want shotgun or you gonna cuddle up in the backseat?”

“We’ll take the backseat, thanks.” Cronus opened the door for Kankri who hesitantly climbed into the vehicle. Cronus got in after him and slammed the door shut before buckling his seatbelt.

“So, Kankri and Corona huh?’

“Actually...Cronus and Kankri. And it would be preferred that you refer to us with male pronouns.”

“Will do, my bad. Name’s Rufioh.” he looked at the two in his rear view mirror, adjusting it to get a better view of the two, “so, why you two run away from nice sunny Georgia then?”

“It's not that sunny.” Kankri picked at the dirt that had gathered under his nails. “You want sunny go to Florida.”

“I've considered there, but I think I got my sights set on California. You didn't answer my question yet though.”

Cronus sighed, “Bad parenting. I'd like to put it at that and leave it at that.”

“Reasonable enough. I'm still living with my dad right now but like I said, I'm planning to try and move west.”

“How old are you?”

“19, I graduated this past summer. I got a job right now working at my dad's lumber company just a bit before where you guys were walking.”

Kankri bounced his leg, looking out the window, ”how long till we reach your house might I ask?”

“Oh just a few more minutes. It's a quaint Lil house, I live there with my dad, my mom should be getting back from a business trip today, and my Lil bro is at school right now. God he's an adorable guy.”

“Mhmm..”

Cronus wrapped his arm around Kankri and offered a tender smile, “it’ll be okay.” he spoke on a whisper.

Kankri sighed and rested his head on Cronus’ shoulder, closing his eyes gently. 

“I bet you guys haven't eaten much lately have you?” Rufioh glanced back before looking to the road again, “or at least you haven't had a proper meal. I don't mean to brag but I can cook up a storm.”

“I s’pose a warm meal would be rather appreciated.” Cronus smirked, “though if I had to choose the best cook in this vehicle I think I'd be voting for myself.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“I've been cooking since I was 8.”

“Impressive, I hate to one up you but I've been going strong since 6.” Rufioh pulled into his driveway and parked, ”here we are.”

Cronus and Kankri climbed their way out of the car and both took a moment to glance over the exterior for any alarm bells.

It wasn't a huge house; probably just enough for the 4 in the family Rufioh had talked about. It had one story, was painted a pale blue and on their porch they had a swing.

“How cute.” Cronus grabbed their bags from the vehicle, handing Kankri his.

“Thanks. Yes I suppose that's one way to describe it.” 

“Awe, don't like it doll?” Rufioh led them inside

“It's not quite that.” Kankri followed with some hesitance, “It’s more so the fact that every instinct I've had about strangers in the past are screaming at me. I mean no offense to you but we barely know you and now you're inviting us into your house.”

“Understandable I guess.” Rufioh kicked his shoes off,” I’ll just have to earn your trust then, yeah?”

Kankri nodded, clutching onto his backpack still while Cronus set his own down.

“I'll find my dad, then I'll cook you guys up some lunch. Make yourself at home.” With that Rufioh left the room.

Cronus walked around the room they were left it, which seemed to consist of an open kitchen, living room and entrance, along with a small dining area. He glanced at a few of their family photos, stopping in front of one with what he would assume to be Rufioh’s mother and father. He swore he had seen her before...but where?

Before he could ponder the photo any longer however Rufioh came back into the room with his father walking behind. Oh wow Cronus could see the resemblance.

Rufioh stood probably about six foot two while his father as a good few inches taller. On top of that Rufioh had some muscle, but his father had much more bulk. They also both seemed to have an interest for piercings, though Rufioh wore gauges in in own ears.

“Hello, welcome to our home.” he shook Kankri’s hand, brow raised, “Mexican?”

Kankri blinked and gave a small nod, “My name is Kankri, and yours?”

The man smiled, “Me llamo Santos.” 

Kankri couldn't help but smile back, “Buenos dias Santos.”

“Buenos dias Kankri.” he kissed the back of his hand before releasing it.

“Daaad stop, you're married.”

“I'm just giving our guests a formal greeting.” he made his way over to Cronus and paused, brows furrowed.

“Is something wrong?”

“I, no, have we met before?”

“I don't believe so.” Cronus took the others hand and shook it, “You may have seen my face on the news recently however. Name’s Cronus.”

“Santos.” the adult pulled his hand away and stared at the other for a moment later before shrugging it off, ”No matter. Let's get you two some lunch yes? I was thinking rice bowls with some spice.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Kankri sat at the island counter in the middle of the kitchen.

It was funny how quickly the situation took a 180 turn for Cronus and Kankri. Kankri seemed to be more relaxed and less worried now, but alarms were going off in Cronus’ head, but he couldn't place his finger on why.

He shook it off. He was just being anxious.

He sat himself next to Kankri and took his hand gently and squeezed it while they watched the two cook. It was mesmerizing to watch the two work side by side. Both so committed to the dish. 

Soon enough the smells of chicken and spices filled the room and Cronus forced himself to swallow down the saliva that had been building up in his mouth.

Santos grabbed some bowls from a cupboard and Rufioh swiftly filled five of them. Cronus rose a brow, “who’s the fifth bowl for?”

“My wife, she'll be coming home soon from a business meeting. Not sure how we'll explain this to her.” Santos gave a laugh as he put a bowl in front of the two, then dug into his own, “though I'm sure it'll be fine.”

Cronus gave a nod and silently ate while Kankri and Santos seemed to be happily speaking in Spanish and soon enough Rufioh joined in as well. Whelp. It was okay; he needed some time to collect his thoughts anyhow on what to do next.

Soon enough the front door opened and what he had assumed was Santos’ wife entered the room. Cronus paled, dropping his spoon in his bowl as the two of them made eye contact. 

Marquise. This wasn't going to be good.

A wicked grin spread across the woman's face, “Corona, so nice of you to visit cherub.”


	8. The Best of Comrades

Rufioh took a moment to glance between his mother and Cronus,”Wait, wait, you two know each other?” 

“Oh yes sweetheart, Corona’s Father and I go far back, isn’t that right sweetie~?” Mingfang pinched Cronus’ cheek with a sickeningly sweet smile,”Do you and your friend here need somewhere to stay for the night?”

Kankri and Cronus exchanged a look before Cronus took Kankri by the arm,”Can we talk it over perhaps for a minute?” he slowly got up, quickly leaving the room with Kankri before anyone could stop them.

“Cronus? Cronus who is she? Are we going to be safe with here anymore?” Kankri nervously looked from the kitchen where the other three were, then back to Cronus.

“I don’t know Kan...She does know my dad, but they’re like mortal enemies so I don’t know if she’d rather keep me to spite my father or use me as a bargaining chip to get who knows how much money from him.”

Kankri nodded, wrapping his arms around Cronus and rested his head against the other’s chest,”..should we try and go?”

“I highly doubt we’d be able to right now, not with them so close to the door.” Cronus stroked Kankri’s hair and puffed his cheeks,”We need a goodnight’s sleep anyways, and it’ll only be for tonight, so...what’s the worst that can happen?” If Cronus was being honest he truly wasn’t sure if that was true, but bags were forming under Kankri’s eyes and his paranoia was getting the best of him recently. One night of sleep could really do him some good..

“Just one night?” Cronus nodded and nuzzled the top of the other’s head with his nose,”Okay..”

Cronus then took Kankri’s hand and went back out to the kitchen where the three were talking amongst themselves. Mindfang picked her head up as the two boys entered,”Are you going to stay the night then?”

“We will...we’ve been traveling a lot so if it wouldn’t be too much of a problem would you mine showing us where we’re staying for the night..?”

Rufioh instantly got up from his seat,”I got it, mom why dont you eat and catch up with pops since you haven’t been home for a while, yeah?”

“Of course sweetheart.” Marquise kissed her son’s forehead,”Always so selfless.”

The young Nitram offered a smile before leading both Kankri and Cronus down a hall, going straight into their room with them, then closed the door.

Kankri rose a brow slightly and gave a nervous smile and laugh,”Rufioh, what are you doing?”

“You...you can’t stay the night. I don’t know what your guy’s situation is but I saw you guys on the news and from what my mother was saying well...I’m pretty sure she wants to take you back to your families.”

Cronus paled, taking Kankri’s hand once more, holding it tightly as he looked to him,”We need to go babe, tonight...im sorry, I really wanted you to get a goodnight’s sleep…”

Kankri shook his head and offered a smile as he rubbed an eye,”Ill be fine Cronus...you dont need to worry too much about me.”

Rufioh sighed and rubbed the back of his neck,”Where are you guy’s gonna go?”

“Back to the train I guess..plan off of where it takes us.”

There was a long moment of silence,”...what about a car?”

“Where on earth would we get one? We deserted our last one.” Kankri sat on the bed, a lost look on his face.

“Well..I was savin’ up to get myself a new one anyway...so you could always take mine. Could even give you guys a bit of cash.”

Kankri blinked,”Oh Rufioh you dont have to do that.”

“It’s the right thing to do. You guys just hold tight til I come back later okay? Im gonna tell my mom you’re asleep and go shopping for a bit.”

Cronus nodded, tugging Rufioh into a hug and sighed,”We will never forget you for this. Youre a good guy.” He stepped back.

“Don’t mention it doll, again, it was the right thin’ to do.” Kankri approached and hugged Rufioh as well.

“We’ll be here until your return.” Kankri offered a smile as he stepped back next to Cronus

“Catch you later dolls.” And with that Rufioh left the room, leaving the two to their own devices.

Cronus closed the door and dropped his backpack onto the bed,”We should probably access what we have before we go.”

“That may be best.” Kankri slipped off his satchel, puffing his cheeks as he then proceeded to dump it out onto the bed.

Cronus’ eyes scanned over what they had,”Flash lights, should check if any of the food is experiered, we should probably wash any dishes we have, wash our clothes if we can...what’s this?” Cronus lifted a journal off the bed.

“Nothing!” Kankri quickly snagged it from his hands, his face a bright red.

“Woah, woah.” Cronus held his hands up defensively as he laughed,”Okay, okay I won’t read your secret journal.”

Kankri rolled his eyes,”Yeah, I’d appreciate that, thanks.” He shoved the notebook back into the satchel.

“Your face is awful red babe, there somethin’ in that lil journal about me?”

“No, no why would I write about you?”

Faking a pout Cronus huffed,”You don’t like me?”

With a scoff Kankri gently punched Cronus’ arm,”I do like you.”

“Okay but...like me or liiiike...like like me?”

“What on earth does that even mean?”

“Lemme rephrase babe.” Cronus took a step toward Kankri,”Do you like me as a pal…” He proceed to stroke Kankri’s cheek, staring into his eyes as he moved his hand down to take his hand,”Or somethin’ more? Or was that kiss on the train just somethin’ we ought to pretend never happened?”

“Cronus, I..” Kankri looked around nervously, his face as red as before,”Well..”

“Oh..” Cronus stepped back, a feeling of regret filling him. So...he had read all the other’s signals wrong? Shit..”Sorry I just thought-”

Before Cronus could finish his sentence Kankri had grabbed him by the shirt and tugged him into a passionate kiss. Cronus tensed at first, only to smile happily into the kiss as he rubbed Kankri’s back,”Yeah..? So..you like, like me~?”

Kankri rolled his eyes and pushed his bangs back out of his face,”Cronus I like, like, like, like you...and I would never regret that kiss on the train.” 

“Good to know.” Cronus sighed, looking over to the bed,”Whelp, we got some work to do don’t we?”

“Yeah...I’ll do the laundry, you get the dishes and we’ll go from there.” 

“Sounds fair enough to me.” Cronus kissed his cheek and grabbed the dishes,”Meet you back in here babe.”

Rubbing his cheek, Kankri flushed lightly,”Y-yeah..” 

Cronus left the room, closing the door behind himself, taking a deep breath before grinning happily to himself, muttering a,”Hell yes.” before giddily making his way to the kitchen to clean up their dishes. Lucky for him, no other person was around so he would have some peace and quiet to work.

~~~

After a few hours Rufioh returned and the boys had gotten all cleaned and packed up, they had even managed to squeeze in a shower for the both of them.

“Sorry I took so long dolls, traffic is always hectic in town at this time of night, but I got you some goods.” Rufioh dropped plastic bags onto the bed.

“How sweet.” Cronus peered into the bags, however Rufioh shoo’d him away and began to unpack them himself,”Water bottles, batteries, some lil cereal boxes, you’ll have to eat those without milk, sorry...uhhh, some fresh underwear and other clothes, fuel for that lil stove I noticed you have, oh!” he rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a tent and sleeping bags with blankets and pillows.

“Oh Rufioh…this is too much.”

“Hey, hey, im not done yet.” Rufioh pulled a small wad of cash,”There’s about two hundred bucks there...aaaaand my number.” he handed Kankri a piece of paper in a plastic sleeve to keep it dry.

“Oh thank you, I might just write this in my journal.” Kankri pocketed the number.

“Group hug chief.” Cronus hugged Rufioh, yet again, then tugged Kankri into the embrace as well.

“Okay, okay boys.” Rufioh stepped back,”I got the car all toasty and set up for you, with maybe a few more surprises.”

“Oh my gooood, stop.” Kankri couldn’t help but grin as they slowly made their way toward the front door,”...thank you.”

“Yeah, thanks babe, we’ll make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to you two, now get out of here, and call me on payphones yeah?”

“Will do.” and with that the two boys left their new found comrade to the car.


	9. Taking Stock

Cronus and Kankri started their car ride in silence for a while, Cronus at the wheel, Kankri sat in the passenger seat. After about twenty minutes of silence Kankri spoke up, jumping Cronus slightly, but not enough to perturb his driving course,”Back at the start of it all again...where are we headed?”

Cronus blinked,”I...don’t know..but we should probably figure it out..” he pulled off at a gas station,”How about we just..grab some snacks then access the situation at hand.” He parked at the station and got out.

“Alright, alright. So we should access money, food, clothes, everything along those lines.” Kankri followed behind Cronus into the store and grabbed a package of trail mix along a bottle of iced tea. He then went back to Cronus who was holding a pastry and chocolate milk.

“All set chief?” Cronus turned his attention to the other.

Kankri glanced at his food,”I think I am, yes.”

They then proceeded to approach the counter and Cronus handed over the cash to the worker behind the counter, who starred a minute too long for him. Cronus snatched up their food before leaving the store in a hurry, not even letter the other bag their stuff once they got their cash back.

Once back in the vehicle Cronus drove off and Kankri widened his eyes,”What’s this all about?” He hurriedly buckled up.

“Our faces are still seen as wanted on tv Kan. That guy was staring a minute too long for me to feel safe. Besides I found a map of the area and there’s a park near here. We can take stock there.” 

A sigh came from Kankri and then he nodded,”I understand, but we cant let this weigh down on us forever. Eventually we’re going to have to-”

“Get caught? Get sent back? Kankri I was so close to having to see that man again and believe it or not I really dont want to risk it.”

“Well they’re not going to stop blasting our face so we’re going to have to handle it somehow.”

Cronus groaned and patted the wheel in frustration,”I..know, I know Kankri.” He furrowed his brows and thought for a moment,”We could just claim it's a coincidence that we look alike?”

“I’d love it to be that easy, but I have to be a realist too about this Cronus, what happens when they won’t drop it?”

“Then we leave.”

“Then they call the cops.”

Cronus rubbed his brow and sighed,”Okay, okay..uhm,” he soon reached the park and stopped the vehicle and turned it off,”If it's not cops from Georgia then my father can’t even know. We..we’ll just explain the situation.”

Kankri nodded and took Cronus’ hand,”Let’s take stock okay? Then perhaps we can camp here for the night. Wouldn’t be that bad.”

“You’re right, you’re right.” Cronus kissed his forehead, causing a flush to spread lightly over the Vantas’ cheeks, which the other missed, due to reaching in the back to grab a backpack,”Should we just find a picnic table and work on there?”

“That would probably be better than being stuffed inside this vehicle, yes.”

The two then proceeded to climb out of the car and unpacked everything that they had packed, along with finding a few surprises from the Nitram himself, including extra cash, food and clothes…

Dropping their stuff on a picnic table Cronus couldn’t help but smile,”What an absolute sweetheart that guy is, we really gotta find him after all this bullshit simmers down. Now let’s have a look at what’s going on here.”

Kankri grabbed the cash and got a small ziploc bag,”How about I count this all up, while you handle clothes. Then together we can figure out our food situation.”

“Sounds like a plan chief.”

With that clothes were being sorted from dirty and clean, shirts and pants, binders and bras, socks and underwear, then were folded accordingly. 

On the other side of the table Kankri was counting cash into sections on hundreds, brows furrowing a few times as he rechecked over the amount he had previously before continuing to add up totals.

Kankri was the first to finish and looked to Cronus who was sniffing a shirt, then tossed it into a pile of dirty clothes,”So right now we’re looking at about sixteen hundred dollars.”

Cronus nodded a bit, folding a shirt,”Okay, so here’s my thoughts, we go down in the state, not near here because of that whole...last situation, but if we stay in state but away they think we moved on they might just skip over here entirely and go south again.”

“Well...alright. So what? We find somewhere and get an apartment?”

“Exactly. Okay. Clothes. Maybe half way through on clothes, I don’t think we need to worry about it now but once we figure out where we’re going to stop and settle we should wash em.”

“Okay, lets pack those up, then we can get to work on figuring out the food situation.” Clothes got packed away and Cronus returned to Kankri who was sorting through foods,”We’re dealing mostly with canned and boxed foods so that’s good.”

“So..what needs to be done soon so we dont end up with food stinking up the car?”

“Nothing really.” Kankri looked to him and offered a smile,”I think we’re in the green.”

“Awesome.” Cronus then proceeded to take the food and packed it away. Kankri sighed and watched the other for a long moment. Thoughts of fantasies with the other had been clouding his mind lately..he just wants to grab him by the front of his shirt and kiss him like there was tomorrow...and more. 

As Cronus approached him once again Kankri glanced around to check if anyone else was within the park, and by the looks of it was alone,”Kan? Is somethin wrong? You look on edge.”

“I..” Kankri took a deep breath and looked to the other who was now standing in front of him. Fuck it. What was there to lose? They had been flirting and more for a while now. He snagged Cronus by his shirt and kissed him passionately, filled with desire.

Cronus widened his eyes but didn’t protest the other at all. How nice..he let his hands fall to rest on Kankri’s..all to squeezable hips as he returned the smooch. Eh, why not. He gave Kankri’s hips a light squeeze and elicited a soft sound he hadn’t quite expected to hear. A mewl of sorts he supposed.

Kankri pulled back and looked up into Cronus’ stupidly gorgeous blue eyes,”I..want our relationship to go further tonight.” he was still clinging to the other’s shirt.

“I..well..” Cronus’ face was a deep red now. He gave a nod and took Kankri’s hands,”And you’re..physically comfortable with it?”

“I am if you are.”

“Yeah, yeah totally babe.” Cronus stroked his cheek, biting his bottom lip and flushed lightly as Kankri playfully nipped at his thumb.

“Im happy you feel that way..I’m going to go grab my trail mix and iced tea, then I’ll be right back okay?”

“Alright, I uhm,” he laughed nervously,”Yeah, would you mind grabbing my stuff from the store too?”

“Not at all.” 

Kankri walked off and Cronus rubbed under his chin. Damn that ass. What an ass...and within seconds Kankri returned, plastic bag with their things in hand,”Thanks babe.” Cronus looked over,”There’s a lake edge, you wanna go sit and eat over there?”

“I’d love to.”

The two made their way over to the gravelly edge of the water and sat themselves on a bench, and Kankri wasted no time to lean against Cronus as the two ate in silence, the only sounds around them were birds chirping and the gentle water. 

Within what felt like minutes the sun began to set in a splash of colors behind the water, and the sounds of loons calling echoed out eerily across the lake. Not a word had been spoken between the two, but as darkness crept closer and closer a bit of anxiety prickled between the two.

Cronus cleared his throat and turned his head away from the water to look at Kankri,”I spose we ought to head back to the vehicle and get some dinner?”

“Yeah, yep. Then..to bed?” Kankri’s face was red and with ease Cronus could understand what the other was insinuating.

“Yep.” The two pushed themselves off the bench and went over to the vehicle,”I think we could manage some noodles with what we got.”

“Sounds good to me.” Kankri sat down at the picnic table they were at earlier, next to a grill. 

After a bit the pasta was finished and the two had ate Cronus moved a little close to Kankri,”Do you wanna try maybe..skinny dipping after we clean up?”

“Skinny dip?”

“When’s the next time we’re going to have a good chance for a swim in a lake?”

There was a pause. Just let yourself go Kankri,”Screw it, why not.”


End file.
